Looking Forward to Jesus' Second Coming, the Reinvention of the Buddha, and More

May 22, 2013

Summary: Why the apocalypse remains a symbol of hope in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and how Enlightenment Europeans re-invented the Buddha.

On a Sesquicentennial, Waiting for the World-to-Come

May 22, 2013

In 1844, a religious movement called the Millerites predicted that Jesus would return on October 22nd of that year. The day came to be known as "The Great Disappointment." Nearly twenty years later, a break-away Millerite founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Although they’ve been waiting 150 years, the Adventists still believe the apocalypse is imminent. But they’ve learned their lesson: only God knows the true date.

Pictured: An official church handbook from 2005, explaining the church's beliefs.

Rev. Mark Schaefer, instructor and United Methodist Chaplain at American UniversityDavid Trim, director of Archives, Statistics, and Research at the Seventh Day Adventist World Headquarters

Rewriting the Story of the Buddha

May 22, 2013

These days, most Americans like the Buddha, imagining him as a contemplative, peaceful man who found enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. But just a couple centuries ago, many Westerners saw Buddhists as abhorrent heathens. That all changed in the nineteenth century, when European Enlightenment philosophers recast the Buddha as a model humanist.